Restaurant Payments App Cover Launches In San Francisco

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Payments app Cover wants to make it easier for restaurant goers to “dine and dash.” To do so legally, at least. And now it works in select San Francisco restaurants, in addition to those that accept it in New York City.

The app lets users skip waiting for a check, with a seamless process for paying a restaurant with your mobile phone instead of breaking out cash or a credit card at the end of a meal.

Just as Uber stores your payment details and automatically charges your card after your ride has been completed, so too does Cover allow you to “pay” without seeing a check.

When you first enter a restaurant, all you have to do is check in to a place, let your server know that you have Cover, and the amount that you owe will automatically be deducted from the credit or debit card you have on file.

Even better, if you go with a group and everyone has the app, it will automatically split the bill… eliminating the hassle that usually comes with handing over multiple credit cards for a single bill.

While the pitch to consumers seems pretty straightforward — payment without the hassle — restaurants are similarly attracted to the speed and ease with which they can get their money.

Since launching in New York City last October, the app is now accepted by than 80 restaurants throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn. Over the last several months, the company’s founders have been working to bring the same functionality to restaurants in the Bay Area. After testing the service out, it’s officially ready to launch with more than 20 fine dining establishments here.

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Crunchbase

OverviewCover isn’t the only startup trying to tackle mobile payments at restaurants — there’s also TabbedOut, and, of course, Square. But those have some limitations. For TabbedOut, the check-out flow isn’t as simplified as what Cover is aiming for. And Square requires businesses to use its own POS system.